Over the next few days, while you’re watching Romneymania in Tampa, if you’re so inclined, take a moment to think back over the primary season that this event culminates. Sure, the opponents said a lot of nasty things about Mitt, and that’s par for the course, but what I’m talking about is what the electorate said. For months on end, it was “anyone but Romney”. Run any other name up the pole: Perry, Gingrich, Santorum, Bachman… Herman Cain! Voters flocked to the new alternative.

With discipline, diligence, and lots of cash, Mitt held out as the darlings de jour rose then faded under the broader and deeper scrutiny of national attention.

The Republican (and Democrat) parties are minorities in the US, each representing less than a third of voters. Factor in primary voter turnout rates of 20%-30%, and the result is that these candidates are selected by less than 10% of the population.

Now we enter the enhancement phase of the process, where the otherwise battered and maligned chosen ones are adorned with flags and presented to the other 90% as flawless and the only ones that can save us from the incompetence of the other side at this “critical point in the history of the country”.

It’s gonna be interesting to see who blows more hot air – the convention or the hurricane.